2017 World Series of Poker Europe

Event #1: €1,100 No-Limit Hold'em MONSTER STACK

EVENT UPDATES

Monday, October 23, 2017 11:02 PM Local Time

Oleksandr Shcherbak Captures the First Gold Bracelet of the 2017 WSOP Europe

The first event of the 2017 World Series of Poker Europe has come to an end. Oleksandr Shcherbak, from Kiev, Ukraine, took down Event #1: €1,100 No-Limit Hold'em MONSTER STACK for a nice payday of €117,708.

Shcherbak put on a dominating performance when he got heads-up with Viliyan Petleshkov. He raced out to lead with some strong aggressive play but suffered a setback after doubling up Petleshkov. Both players flopped top pair but Petleshkov held the bigger-kicker. That didn't stop Shcherbak's game plan as he continued to bully Petleshkov out of many pots. Once Shcherbak took back the lead, he cruised into the final hand of the tournament where he held against Petleshkov's . When Shcherbak turned a set of sevens, the match was all but over.

The first-place finish not only gives Shcherbak his first WSOP gold bracelet, but it is also his first ever WSOP tournament cash. Shcherbak was not available for comment after capturing the title but did mention that he is a poker professional. Before this event, Shcherbak had just one recorded cash, coming from earlier this summer at the PokerStars National Championship in Barcelona.

Final Table Results

Place

Player

Country

Prize (EUR)

1st

Oleksandr Shcherbak

Ukraine

117,708

2nd

Viliyan Petleshkov

Bulgaria

72,747

3rd

Sergio Fernandez

Spain

49,929

4th

Carlo Savinelli

Itlay

34,869

5th

Walter Treccarichi

Italy

24,787

6th

Peter Bstieler

Germany

17940

7th

Serge Danis

Switzerland

13,225

8th

Ismael Bojang

Germany

9,934

9th

Ali Sameeian

Germany

7,605

The first event of the series attracted a total of 561 entries over the course of three starting days which put together a prizepool of €538,280. There were 85 places paid and after three players busted on the money bubble, they shared a min-cash worth €1,061 each.

Final Table Summary

The official final table of nine finally assembled on the feature table after nearly three hours were played prior. There were many players that came to the final table with under 20 big blinds, Ali Sameeian being one of them. He moved all-in with pocket fours but ran into the pocket kings of Shcherbak and became the first casualty. Not long after, Ismael Bojang walked into a cooler with ace-king vs Treccarichi's pocket aces. Bojang was unable to come from behind and exited in eighth place. Serge Danis sat on the short stack for a long time and managed to ladder his way up to seventh place. He eventually fell victim to the blinds and left the table just six-handed.

Peter Bstieler made an impressive run at the final table but with the action folded to Shcherbak in the small blind holding pocket nines, Bstieler was in trouble with pocket sevens. There was a seven on the flop to give Bstieler the lead, but a nine on the river changed his fortune as he was eliminated in sixth place. Walter Treccarichi was left on the next shortest stack and flipped for stacks against Shcherbak. Treccarichi was in the lead until Shcherbak hit a pair of queens on the river to be ousted in fifth place.

Carlo Savinelli showed the most aggression on the final table but eventually, his opponents started to pick up on that. Savinelli got his chips in the middle in a dominated position against Petleshkov and could not come from behind to finish in fourth place. Three-handed play lasted the longest as the remaining trio tossed chips back and forth. Sergio Fernandez came to the final table with the chip lead but unfortunately ran a three-barrel bluff into the full house of Shcherbak. That left him on the short stack where he moved all-in on the button holding and was called by Shcherbak with . Shcherbak hit a king on the turn and that put an end to Fernandez's tournament run. With that, Shcherbak and Petleshkov were left heads-up to fight for the bracelet.

There were many notables to enter the field that fell short of making the money including Kristen Bicknell, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Alex Foxen, Kenny Hallaert, and Roberto Romanello. There were also those that made it into Day 2 and were able to stop by the payout desk. Valentin Vornicu (14th place - $4,726), Ryan Hughes (21st place - $3,184), Scott Stewart (26th place - $3,184), Jan Bendik (29th place - €2,697), Maxim Lykov (32nd place - €2,697), Sander van Wessemael (47th place - €2,065), Allen Kessler (€2,065), James Akenhead (57th place - €1,868), Mike Leah (62nd place - €1,868), and Ryan Hefter (67th place - €1,730) all cashed in this opening event.

By cashing in the first event of the series, Ryan Hughes took advantage of his fellow Player of the Year contenders coming up short. Hughes jumped into the lead of the race that everyone has their eyes on. He now holds a small lead over Chris Ferguson, although any min-cash could change things again.

That wraps up Event #1 at the WSOP Europe inside the King's Casino but continue to follow along with PokerNews for continuous coverage throughout the series.

Monday, October 23, 2017 10:19 PM Local Time

Viliyan Petleshkov Eliminated in 2nd Place (€72,747)

Hand #102:

Viliyan Petleshkov raised to 260,000 on the button with and Oleksandr Shcherbak three-bet to 800,000 with . Petleshkov moved all-in for 4,115,000 and Shcherbak asked for a count before making the call.

The flop came and Shcherbak was still in the lead with a pair of sevens. The turn was the giving Shcherbak a set of sevens and Petleshkov was drawing dead to the on the river.

Viliyan Petleshkov was eliminated in second place but will still take home a healthy €72,747 for his efforts today.

Hand #99: Shcherbak raised to 240,000 with and Petleshkov called with . The flop came , Petleshkov check-called on the 240,000 bet of Shcherbak. The turn brought them the , Petleshkov checked again. Now Shcherbak bet 650,000, Petleshkov folded.

Hand #100: Petleshkov limped in with Shcherbak raised to 400,000 with and Petleshkov now folded.

Hand #101: Shcherbak completed with and Petleshkov checked with his . the flop came , Petleshkov check- called the 120,000 bet of Shcherbak. The turn gave them the , Petleshkov checked again, Shcherbak bet 360,000 and Petleshkov called. The on the river completed the board and Petleshkov checked. Shcherbak bet 360,000 and Petleshkov shoved all in. Shcherbak snap-folded.

Monday, October 23, 2017 10:00 PM Local Time

Level 31 started

Level:

31

Blinds:

60000/120000

Ante:

20000

Monday, October 23, 2017 9:50 PM Local Time

Break Time

The players have gone for a 15-minute break.

Monday, October 23, 2017 9:47 PM Local Time

Hands #91-96: Shcherbak Dominating Heads-Up Play

Hand #91: Viliyan Petleshkov raised to 250,000 with and Oleksandr Shcherbak three-bet to 800,000 with . Petleshkov was forced to lay his hand down.

Hand #92: Shcherbak raised to 200,000 with and Petleshkov re-raised to 650,000 with , getting Shcherbak to fold.

Hand #93: Petleshkov raised to 250,000 with and Shcherbak called with . The flop came and Shcherbak checked to Petleshkov who fired 350,000 with a straight flush draw. Shcherbak folded and Petleshkov won the pot.

Hand #94: Shcherbak raised to 200,000 with and Petleshkov folded.

Hand #95: Petleshkov raised to 250,000 with and Shcherbak called with . The flop came and both players checked to the on the turn. Two more checks and the landed on the river. Again, both players checked and Shcherbak's ace-high won the hand.

Hand #96: Shcherbak raised to 250,000 with and Petleshkov called with . The flop fell and Petleshov checked to Shcherbak who fired 150,000. Petleshkov check-raised to 525,000 and Shcherbak called. The landed on the turn and both players checked to the on the river. They both checked again and Shcherbak won the hand with the only pair.

Oleksandr Shcherbak

7,400,000

2,700,000

Viliyan Petleshkov

3,700,000

-2,600,000

Monday, October 23, 2017 9:37 PM Local Time

Hands #86-90: Shcherbak Takes Over The Lead

Hand #86: Oleksandr Shcherbak raised to 200,000 with and Viliyan Petleshkov called with . The flop came , Petleshkov bet 150,000 and was called. They both checked on the on the turn. The river completed the board with the , Petleshkov check-raised to 975,000 on the 250,000 bet of Shcherbak. Shcherbak then re-raised to 2,200,000 and now Petleshkov folded.

Hand #87: Petleshkov raised with pocket tens and Shcherbak folded.

Hand #88: Shcherbak raised to 200,000 with and Petleshkov called with . The flop brought them the on which they both checked. The turn gave them the , Petleshkov check-folded to the 200,000 bet of Shcherbak.

Hand #89: Petleshkov completed with and Shcherbak checked with the in his hand. They checked through the board which was [.

Hand #81: Viliyan Petleshkov limped the button with and Oleksandr Shcherbak checked his big blind with . The flop came and Shcherbak won the pot with a bet of 100,000.

Hand #82: Shcherbak raised to 200,000 with and Petleshkov re-raised to 650,000 with . Shcherbak folded and Petleshkov won the hand.

Hand #83: Shcherbak picked up a walk in the big blind.

Hand #84: Petleshkov received a walk.

Hand #85: In a limped pot, the flop came . Petleshkov held and took down the pot with a bet of 125,000.

Viliyan Petleshkov

6,300,000

400,000

Oleksandr Shcherbak

4,700,000

-400,000

Monday, October 23, 2017 9:23 PM Local Time

Hands #76-80: Petleshkov in the Lead

Hand #76: Oleksandr Shcherback compelted, Viliyan Petleshkov checked. Flop came and Shcherbak won the pot with a bet.

Hand #77: Petleshkov raised to 250,000 with Shcherbak called with . The flop came , Shcherbak check-folded on the 225,000 bet of Petleshkov.

Hand #78: Shcherbak raised to 200,000 with and Petleshkov re-raised to 600,000 with . Shcherbak called. The flop came , Petleshkov bet 775,000 and Shcherbak raised all-in. Petleshkov called. The cards were turned over. The turn brought them the and the on the river completed the board to give Petleshkov the double up.

Hand #79: Petleshkov completed with , Shcherbak checked with . The flop came on which they both checked. The turn was the Shcherbak bet 100,000 and Petleshkov raised to 425,000 and Shcherbak folded.

Hand #80: Shcherbak completed with , Petleshkov checked with . The flop came which they checked on, the on the turn was also checked through. The river completed the board with the , Petleshkov check-folded on the 600,000 bet of Shcherbak.

Viliyan Petleshkov

5,900,000

3,200,000

Oleksandr Shcherbak

5,100,000

-3,200,000

Monday, October 23, 2017 9:13 PM Local Time

Hands #71-75: Shcherbak Stays Aggressive with the Lead

Hand #71: Oleksandr Shcherbak opened to 200,00 on the button with and Viliyan Petleshkov called from the big blind with . The flop came and Petleshkov check-called a bet of 150,000 from Shcherbak. The turn was the and Petleshkov checked again. Shcherbak fired another 400,000 and Petleshkov called again. The completed the board and Petleshkov checked for the third time. Shcherbak bet 1,000,000 and Petleshkov called to chop the pot.

Hand #72: Petleshkov limped in on the button with and Shcherbak checked his option with . The flop fell and Shcherbak led out for 100,000 which Petleshkov called. The landed on the turn and Shcherbak fired another 250,000. Petleshkov stuck around to see the on the river and Shcherbak checked this time. Petleshkov fired a bet of 850,000 and Shcherbak folded the same hand.

Hand #73: Petleshkov raised to 250,000 with and Shcherbak three-bet to 700,000 with . Petleshkov mucked his hand and Shcherbak picked up the pot.

Hand #74: Shcherbak opened to 200,000 with and Petleshkov called with . The flop came and Petleshkov checked. Shcherbak continued for 150,000 and Petleshkov called. The turn was the and Petleshkov checked again. Shcherbak fired a bet of 400,000 and Petleshkov called. The river was the and both players checked to send Shcherbak the pot.

Hand #75: Petleshkov folded the button and Shcherbak won another pot.

Oleksandr Shcherbak

8,300,000

500,000

Viliyan Petleshkov

2,700,000

-700,000

Monday, October 23, 2017 9:01 PM Local Time

Hands #66-70: Shcherbak Building a Lead

Hand #66: Viliyan Petleshkov raised to 250,000 with and Oleksandr Shcherbak called with . The flop came , Shcherbak check-raised to 650,000 after Petleshkov bet 200,000 and Petleshkov folded.

Hand #67: The flop came Petleshkov checked with , Shcherbak had and bet 200,000, Petleshkov called. The turn brought them the , Petleshkov check-called when Shcherbak bet 400,000. The river completed the board with . Petleshkov checked again, Shcherbak now continued with a bet of 1,000,000. Petleshkov tanked and then folded.

Hand #68: Petleshkov raised to 250,000 with and Shcherbak called with . The flop came on which they both checked. The dealer turned the , Shcherbak check-folded
to the bet of 200,000 by Petleshkov.

Hand #69: Shcherbak raised to 200,000 with , Petleshkov re-raised to 650,000 with . Shcherbak shoved all in for 7,010,000 and Petleshkov tank-folded.

Sergio Fernandez shipped all-in for 1,570,000 on the button with . Oleksandr Shcherbak called in the big blind with and Fernandez was at risk.

The flop came and Fernandez was still in the lead. The turn brought the and Shcherbak took the lead by pairing his king. The river landed the and Fernandez was eliminated in third place.

That leaves Viliyan Petleshkov and Oleksandr Shcherbak heads-up for the first 2017 WSOP Europe gold bracelet.

Oleksandr Shcherbak

6,010,000

895,000

Viliyan Petleshkov

5,205,000

840,000

Sergio Fernandez

0

-1,800,000

Monday, October 23, 2017 8:48 PM Local Time

Level 30 started

Level:

30

Blinds:

50000/100000

Ante:

15000

Monday, October 23, 2017 8:47 PM Local Time

Hands #60-64: Chip Lead Shuffle

Hand #60: Sergio Fernandez got a walk.

Hand #61: Oleksandr Shcherbak raised to 160,000 with on the button and Viliyan Petleshkov called in the big blind. The flop came , Petleshkov checked, Shcherbak bet 150,000. Now Petleshkov raised to 530,000 and Shcherbak called. The turn brought them the , Petleshkov opened for 770,000, Shcherbak folded.

Hand #62: Petleshkov raised to 240,000 from the small blind with and got Shcherbak to fold.

Hand #63: Shcherbak found in the small blind and shoved all in. The rest folded.

Hand #64: Fernandez completed from the small blind with . Petleshkov checked wit The flop came Kd3h8x], Fernandez check-folded when Petleshkov bet 100,000.

Monday, October 23, 2017 8:39 PM Local Time

Hands #55-59: Shcherbak Wins a Big Pot from Fernandez

Hand #55: Oleksandr Shcherbak raised to 150,000 from the button with and Sergio Fernandez three-bet to 360,000 with and Shcherbak folded.

Hand #56: Fernandes raised to 180,000 with and Shcherbak re-raised with and Fernandez folded.

Hand #57: Viliyan Petleshkov raised to 175,000 on the button with and Fernandez called from the big blind with . The flop came and both players checked to the on the turn. Both players checked again and the completed the board. Fernandez checked for the third time and Petleshkov fired a bet of 150,000 and Fernandez folded.

Hand #58: Shcherbak raised to 160,000 with and picked up the pot.

Hand #59: Fernandez opened to 180,000 with on the button and Shcherbak called from the big blind with . The flop came and Shcherbak checked to Fernandez who fired 160,000. Shcherbak made the call and the peeled off on the turn. Shcherbak checked again and Fernandez bet another 380,000. Shcherbak just called with his two pair and the completed the board. Shcherbak checked for the third time and Fernandez reached back for a bet of 1,160,000. Shcherbak announced all-in and Fernandez quickly mucked his cards.

Monday, October 23, 2017 8:27 PM Local Time

Hands #51-54: Quick and Easy

Hand #51-52: Unfortunately the stream did not show the action on the graphics.

Hand #53: for Fernandez on the button and he raised to 180,000 and everyone folded.

Hand #54: Petleshkov raised to 175,000 and everyone folded. The players then went for a quick bathroom break.

Monday, October 23, 2017 8:23 PM Local Time

Carlo Savinelli Eliminated in 4th Place (€34,869)

Hand #50:

Carlo Savinelli moved all-in for 1,125,000 from under the gun with and was called by Viliyan Petleshkov in the small blind with .

The flop came and Petleshkov was still out front. The on the turn gave Petleshkov the only pair but Savinelli picked up a straight draw. The river was the and Savinelli became the third-place finisher.

Viliyan Petleshkov

4,365,000

2,815,000

Carlo Savinelli

0

-2,410,000

Monday, October 23, 2017 8:20 PM Local Time

Hands #48-52: Petleshkov Doubles Up

Hand #48: Viliyan Petleshkov ripped all-in with from under the gun and picked up the pot.

Hand #49: Oleksandr Shcherbak raised to 160,000 from under the gun with and Petleshkov defended his big blind with . The flop came and Petleshkov check-called a bet of 150,000 from Shcherbak.

The turn brought the and Petleshkov checked again. Shcherbak fired another 300,000 and Petleshkov just called with his trip threes. The landed on the river and Petleshkov checked for the third time. Shcherbak announced all-in and Petleshkov snapped him off for a little over 900,000 to double through Shcherbak.

Monday, October 23, 2017 8:17 PM Local Time

Walter Treccarichi Eliminated in 5th Place (€24,787)

Hand #46: Carlo Savinelli raised to 160,000 from the under-the-gun position with . Unfortunately, further action was not broadcasted due to technical problems with the stream.

Hand #47: After playing a relatively short stack all day and having doubled up a few times, now Walter Treccarichi moved all-in with from the button with his remaining 920,000 and was called by Shcherbak in the small blind who had him covered.

Oleksandr Shcherbak:
Walter Treccarichi:

The board ran out - the queen on the river made sure the pot was awarded to Shcherbak and Treccarichi was out of the running.

Walter Treccarichi

0

-930,000

Monday, October 23, 2017 8:06 PM Local Time

Hands #41-45: Petleshkov Remains Fairly Active

Hand #41: Carlo Savinelli opened to 160,000 from under the gun with and Oleksandr Shcherbak called from the big blind with . The flop came giving Shcherbak trip nines. He led out for 150,000 and Savinelli laid his hand down.

Hand #42: Viliyan Petleshkov raised to 160,000 from the cutoff with and Walter Treccarichi shipped all-in for 760,000 on the button with . The blinds folded and Petleshkov followed suit.

Hand #43: Petleshkov open-shipped all-in for 1,205,000 from under the gun with and picked up the blinds and antes.

Hand #44: The action folded to Sergio Fernandez in the small blind with who raised to 240,000. Petleshkov folded his big blind and Fernandez picked up the pot.

Hand #45: Petleshkov looked down at the in the small blind and just limped in. Treccarichi checked his option and the flop came . Both players checked to the on the turn and the on the river. Petleshkov finally led out for 100,000 and Treccarichi folded.

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